XYTRONIC LF-369D or HAKKO FX-888D

[glasgood]

Hi,

Can someone please help. I'm located in the UK and unfortunately the soldering irons / stations available from adafruit require 120v.


I'm considering purchasing the Hakko FX-888D or the XYTRONIC LF-369D

The Hakko cost around £130.78 from a UK supplier and the XYTRONIC LF-369D cost £54.95

I have just started tinkering around with the Arduino and require a decent soldering station to solder some parts together, I'm aware that a cheap soldering iron my cause damage to components.

On paper the HAKKO FX-888D and XYTRONIC LF-369D look very similar to me, i.e they both have a ceramic heater the Hakko temp range is between 200 and 480. The XYTRONIC temp range is between 150 and 480.

I'm leaning towards purchasing the XYTRONIC LF-369D , is this a good choice ?

Thanks in advance.

[adafruit_support_bill]

The XYTRONIC irons is an excellent iron for the money and is likely capable of everything you need it to do.

The Hakko is a professional quality iron with build quality a a notch above the XYTRONIC and substantially higher wattage (65W vs 45W). The Hakko will heat joints more quickly and the tip temperature will recover faster between joints.

[glasgood]

The XYTRONIC irons is an excellent iron for the money and is likely capable of everything you need it to do.

The Hakko is a professional quality iron with build quality a a notch above the XYTRONIC and substantially higher wattage (65W vs 45W). The Hakko will heat joints more quickly and the tip temperature will recover faster between joints.

Thank you very much for your prompt reply. The XYTRONIC LF-369D it shall be ( This will be my first soldering iron and used for my first soldering attempts )

[neslekkim]

You should check with these: http://www.dancap.co.uk/ they have Hakko's for an good price.
Not that much expensier than US models, and way cheaper than what I had to pay here in Norway...

[glasgood]

You should check with these: http://www.dancap.co.uk/ they have Hakko's for an good price.
Not that much expensier than US models, and way cheaper than what I had to pay here in Norway...

Thanks,

I did have a look at dancap UK. I think dancap is the only supplier here in the uk for Hakko's. Hakko soldering irons seem to get very good review's, price wise I'm almost sold on the XYTRONIC it's less than half the price of the Hakko but having further looked into the XYTRONIC LF-369D I have noticed that the Soldering IRON is hard wired to the soldering station. I'm a little indecisive now, I may pay the extra for the HAKKO given it has a good reputation and that parts can be easily sourced from dancap UK.

[neslekkim]

I don't know anything about the XYtronic, but what is nice with the Hakko is that tips are easily avilable and cheap, you can get almost any tip you need, except the spatula types and those strange ones.

Before i bought my 888D, i bought this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/130620434360
Used that with an cheap $8-9 hakko 907 clone handle, and lots of tips from ebay, If you have an decent old powersupply (I used an old Dell laptoppsu, 19volt, 3.5Amps) it will start fast, and work nicely.
But.. with the price of that, compared to han 888d, I would jump straigt into the hakko, since it will be a little more hassle since you need solderstand, the handle, and an psu to get going.

The hakko is blue and shiny, and sits very well on the desk.. And fantastic startuptime. (Well, if you ever have seen an 951 boot, you will always look further.. )

[glasgood]

Swallowed the Blue and yellow pill,

I just ordered the Hakko FX-888 for £85.00 including postage, it's the 220v made for the Chinese market and I will be using it with a UK adapter.

But I was wondering if Is it possible to replace the flex cable for one with a UK plug instead of using the UK adapter ?

Can someone advise pls

[neslekkim]

Hm, are you really sure you don't get an fake now?, The price at dancap is £88, isn't that almost the same? (Or is the tax and shipping very high?)

The powercord on the 888 series is attached inside the unit, so you need to take it apart. Or, you can just cut the plug, and change that only.
The powercord from Dancap is partnumber B3496, £22.52

The fx951 on the other hand, have an normal powercord similar to atx powersupply's so you can change whatever you like.

[glasgood]

Hm, are you really sure you don't get an fake now?, The price at dancap is £88, isn't that almost the same? (Or is the tax and shipping very high?)

The powercord on the 888 series is attached inside the unit, so you need to take it apart. Or, you can just cut the plug, and change that only.
The powercord from Dancap is partnumber B3496, £22.52

The fx951 on the other hand, have an normal powercord similar to atx powersupply's so you can change whatever you like.

Hi,

With TAX at 20% and £10 shipping costs the Hakko from Dancap will cost £117.82. It's a saving of £32.82, and that saving will go a good way towards me buying the Extech EX330 Multimeter.

I was aware about the fake Hakko's. I bought if from ebay, the seller has sold a lot of the Hakko fx-888 soldering stations. Everyone who has bought the Hakko fx-888 from the ebay seller has left fantastic feedback, not one negative. Noticed a lot of people form around Europe and UK have bought from this seller in China.

Looks like best thing to do is simply cut the plug and replace it.

Thanks again for your advise